Theurgic Rituals have a cost based on the level of the ritual. Remember that the highest level ritual that can be purchased is limited by the Theurge’s Grace.

A level 1 ritual costs 1 point

A level 2 ritual costs 2 points

A level 3 ritual costs 2 points

Level 4 and higher rituals cannot be purchased at this time.

Flaws: It’s not required to take a flaw. If you want to take one, it may occasionally grant you an extra experiance point, but only when it negatively impacts your character in a significant way. Talk to the GM if you’re interested in getting a flaw.

Characters will of course normally have flaws that aren’t serious enough to need bookeeping. Feel free to add those to your character as you like.

Virtues and Vices: Not used.

Initiative: As Normal. Dexterity + Composure. When rolled, you add that number to the roll of a single die, Initiative is not a dice-pool.

Size : Unless you are a Vorax, a Gannock, or have taken the Huge merit this is 5.

Having a Size of 6 gives you one additional Health Level. Having a size of 4 removes one.

Speed: Not used.

Defense: As normal, the lower of your Dexterity or Wits.

Armor can increase defense. Talk to the GM about what armor your have and how much it increases your Defense.

Health: For each level of health, you have your Stamina +2 in hitpoints. Once you’ve taken that much damage or more, you fall to the next level of health, and so on, until you are totally out of health.

You should write down the number under each bubble, or just next to your health, whichever you feel will remind you better. One good way to keep track could be to write how many health points you have left in the current health-level box, and to just fill in the boxes for levels that are already full.

Example: A character with 3 stamina gets 5 points (3+2) per health level. They have the standard 5 health levels. An attack deals 3 points of damage. They now have 2 points left on their first health level. A second attack deals 3 points of damage again. They are now out of points in their first health level and at 4/5 in the second.

Wound Penalties: As the character gets pushed down the health chart by damage, wounds begin to interfere with the ability to fight well.

Once the character has fallen below the last health level, he is Down, and is not dead yet but is in a lot of danger of dying. Down characters are likely unconscious and even if they are not, they cannot perform any strenuous action. Down characters are out of the fight and need someone to help them or they will likely die.

Step 4 – Gear

The amount of Firebirds your character has at creation is dependent on his or her Resources merit. Even destitute characters will get some firebirds to spend, but only the minimum amount, and those must be spent on gear or they will be taken away when the game starts.

The main currency is the Firebird, a coin with the Imperial Phoenix on one side and the Emperor’s face on the other. Some Firebirds have been cut into halves or quarters. Half a Firebird is called a Crest, and a quarter is called a Wing.

Firebirds are difficult to counterfeit, because they currently hold a value equal to the special metal (called prismium) in their weight. Most of the prices in the sourcebook are prices set by the League. Buying things from local markets or on the black market may result in very different prices.

Some places also have their own currency. Though the Empire discourages this, it doesn’t yet have the power to stamp out rogue coins entirely.

Below is a chart indicating how many firebirds a character has to spend on gear at the start of the game, plus any income he or she might have. Since people accumulate lots of things over the course of their life, and get gifts at coming of age ceremonies, there’s a large difference between the firebirds one has to spend on gear, and the money in-pocket at the start of the game. Unspent firebirds from the Gear section do not carry over to in-pocket money unless the character has purchased a special financial merit.

Resources:

Firebirds for Gear:

Income:

Starting Pocket Money:

0

75 Firebirds

None

1d10 Wings

1

150 Firebirds

5fb / mo

1d10 Crests

2

250 Firebirds

15fb / mo

10-15 Firebirds

3

400 Firebirds

50fb / mo

25-30 Firebirds

4

750 Firebirds

180+fb / mo

50-75 Firebirds

5

1200 Firebirds

500+fb / mo

100-150 Firebirds

Step 5 – You’re done!

The mechanical part of making a character is over. Give some thought to who the character is and where they came from, but otherwise you’re good to go.